Support for garments



Dec. 12, 1933. w. P. VANACE SUPPORT FOR GARMENTS Filed March 7, 1952 [HI/H7225: 11/17/1111 P ill Patented Dec. 12, 1933 UNITED s'r Ts-s SUPPORT F01; GARMENTS h William P. valet, Troy, N. Y. Application March 7,1932. Serial No. 597,163 1 Claim; (01. 2-117) My invention relates to improvements in shirts and in garment supporters which latter, for convenience, may be called suspenders and to their combination. 7

Ordinarily suspenders-comprise straps that are worn over the shoulders but which form no part of the shirt, such straps being unattached to and independent of' the shirt. Many persons object to the use of such unattached straps because they are uncomfortable. For example, they are always slipping off the shoulders, they are hot in summer and they are unsightly. Furthermore, these straps become readily wet with perspiration and soiled and it is difficult to satisfactorily clean them.

Among the objects of my invention are the following to provide garment supporting and suspending means which is free from all the objections above indicated and to provide a shirt .20 adapted for use in combination therewith; to

provide suspender means associated with each side and sleeve of the shirt, the means on each side comprising an upper or tongue element with the upper end thereof attached to the shirt and the lower end thereof free from the shirt and comprising also a lower element, preferably of elastic material in whole or in part, adapted to be attached to trousers for supporting the latter; to provide a novel construction between the suspender and theshirt; to provide means on the shirt whereby the. tongue elements of the suspenders may be transferred from one side of the shirt to the other; and to provide improved buckles for attaching the trouser elements to the tongue elements. 7

The foregoing and other objects of my invention and the means and principles involved therein will be more fully understood from the following and. more detail description of the elements thereof, of their arrangement and of the operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which:-

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of one form of my invention, the shirt and suspenders being shown worn by an individual.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged diagrammatic illustration of the part under one arm of a shirt similar to that of Fig. 1 showing one of the suspenders and its buckle under one of the sleeves.

Fig. 3 is a similar illustration ofthe same part of the shirt shown in Fig. 2 with the tongue attached to the shirt on the inside and transferred to the outside. V

Fig. 4 is a similar drawing of the same elements shown in Fig. 3 but with the tongue of the suspender inside the shirt.

Fig; 5 shows'one of the buckles of the suspenders open and'in perspective andone of the tongue ends of the suspenders half looped through the aperture in the buckle between the front and rear jaws of the latter.

Fig. 6 is a side view of one of the buckles with the corresponding suspender tongue looped through the two apertures in the buckle, one between the jaws and the other at the lower end of the rear jaw.

Fig. '7 shows one of the trouser elements of the suspenders.

Referring more in detail to. the drawing the part of the suspenders on each side comprises an upper or tongue element 2 attached to the shirt and a lower element 3, such as commonly used for suspenders and usually made of elastic material either in whole or in part. This elastic element is provided with button .holed terminals 4 and 5 for attaching the trousers thereto as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The said tongue element 2 is preferably made of washable strong cloth such as canvas, twill or the like. A reinforcing strip of suitable cloth is sewed to the shirt material and also to the arm seam 7 and to the side seam 8 of the shirt. The upper portion.

of the strip 20, is preferably formed to conform to the seam 7. The tongue element 2 is preferably placed on the strip 20 and sewed to the shirt on both sides of scam 8 through the strip 20 as indicated by the stitching 9, see Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

The upper edge of the tongue is preferably formed to conform to the seam 7. The tongue is also sewed to the seams '7, and 8 asalso indicated by the same stitching 9. Below the stitching 9 I provide a slot 10 through the strip 20 and through the shirt in the form of a button hole, large enough to .receive the tongue element 2 as indicated in Fig. 2 across the line of the seam 8. The buckle may be clamped to the tongue after the latter is drawn between the jaws 11 and 12, and

7 through the slot 13 as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6,

and it may then be readily unclamped and separated from the suspenders by first raising the jaw element 11 and causing the teeth 12 thereof to disengage from the tongue after which operation the buckle may be slipped off, as indicated in Fig. 5. As shown in this last figure, the lower jaw 12 of the buckle, upon whichlatter the upper jaw is hinged, is provided with a hook 13' for receiving the loop formed by the elastic element 3 of Fig. 7, and as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. This element may be elastic all the way from terminal ios 4 to terminal 5 or it may be elastic only in part, as for example in the enlarged sections 15 as is well known in the art. In this section a number of elastic strands may be used as indicated in Fig. 2 by the numeral 16.

With a device of the above described character all of the ordinary objections to the use of suspenders disappear. The new device has the advantagethat the upper portion is laundered each time the shirt goes to wash. Also the new device can be manufactured for much less than the ordinary suspenders. It is comfortable. It has no shoulder straps. It is neat in appearance. Also the stresses are so well distributed that there is no irritation or annoyance due to any pull on the shoulder. Furthermore the elastic element of the supporting means shown in Fig. 7 may be replaced by a new one at little cost. I

It will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the forms of the device shown inasmuch as the principles of --the invention are of broad application as indicated by the claim and they may be embodied inrother modifications.

For example the tongue. may be formed as a section of the side seam of the shirt or may be formed from a heavy strip forming part of the shirt between two parallel seams under the arm in place or the seam 8.

What I claim is:

In combination with a shirt having a side seam and an arm opening, a supporter having a strip of non-elastic material adapted to be washed, said strip having an end portion permanently attached to the shirt over said side seam and adjacent said opening and having another portion hanging free to swing along the side of the shirt, said supporter having also a resilient cord, with means at each end of the latter whereby said ends maybe attached to another garment, and an open saddle, carried by the free portion of said strip, along the side of the shirt, said saddle freely engaging and supporting said cord along the mid portion of the cord, whereby the latter may freely slide in said saddle, the upper side of the saddle being open, whereby said cord may be readily lifted out of engagement with the saddle,

WILLIAM P. VANACE. 

